No research documenting African American overseas missionaries has been available for over 20 years, of which we are aware. That research in 1998 was in an unpublished doctoral dissertation, also available on this website. An article summarizing some of that earlier research, primarily to assist mission executives in recruiting African Americans, can be downloaded here (PDF).  Prior to 1998, systematic research by Wilbur Harr (1945) and Sylvia Jacobs (1982) focused upon Black missionaries in Africa. We hope this work will inform, assist, and motivate toward realizing the huge potential of the African American church for global Christian mission!

This is the accepted manuscript for the (very slightly updated) article appearing in the April, 2023 edition of Missiology: An International Review. We deeply appreciate the assistance of many in the African American mission mobilization community, as well as significant help from mission executives. Walt Robertson, our webmaster, posted research surveys and oversaw data-gathering since around 2000. We’re grateful for invaluable critiques of peer reviewers, and encouragement provided by Missiology. Unusually, we credit the assistance of intercessors who prayed for years that this work would reach the academic and, hopefully, the general missions community.

While the authors hold the copyright, and while you may freely download and print the article, Sage Publications controls reproduction beyond personal use—please see the text box on p. 1 for permissions.

https://rmni.org/files/afam/HistoryandResearch/African-American-Missionaries-Serving-Overseas.pdf